Prenatal Omega-3 May Boost Baby's Brainpower
(NY, Reuters Health, 6/22/07)

Dr. Carol J. Lammi-Keefe of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and colleagues, randomly assigned a group of 29 women in their 24th week of pregnancy to eat either cereal bars containing 300 mg of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) from fish oil or bars containing corn oil. The subjects ate about five bars per week. When the women’s babies were nine months old, the investigators tested each infant’s memory and problem solving skills by seeing whether the child could retrieve a toy from under a cloth. The researchers found that the DHA infants outperformed their peers on the problem solving task, but both groups were about equal on the memory test. These findings suggest that pregnant women who get enough omega-3s during pregnancy may boost their babies’ problem-solving skills.

(American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2007)